OSBC Osun State Broadcasting Corporation
Hakim Ziyech will join Chelsea from Ajax this summer in a 40 million-euro ($43.4 million) deal, the Dutch champions confirmed Thursday. “Ajax and Chelsea have reached an agreement for the transfer of Hakim Ziyech. The player will join the Premier League club on July 1st 2020 and will finish the season in Amsterdam,” the Eredivisie outfit said in a statement.
“The clubs have agreed a deal of €40 million euros. This sum could potentially increase to a maximum of €44 million, with variable factors.”
The announcement ends days of speculation over the future of attacking midfielder Ziyech, 26, who joined Ajax in 2016 from fellow Eredivisie club FC Twente for a fee of 11 million euros. Ajax enjoyed their best season in a generation last term, with Ziyech at the forefront of a side that made Europe stand up and take notice. Real Madrid and Juventus were the sides they sensationally eliminated in the Champions League knockout stages. Ziyech scored in both legs against the holders, including a typically composed finish to open the scoring at the Bernabeu.
They
fell short in Europe but had no such problems closer to home, winning the Dutch
league and cup double. Ziyech finished with 16 Eredivisie goals and a further
13 assists to his name in just 29 appearances. In a team full of outstanding
performers, Ziyech was named Ajax Player of the Year for the second season
running. This season, Chelsea supporters saw the 26-year-old’s quality at close
quarters. In the second of our Champions League match-ups with Ajax, at
Stamford Bridge, Ziyech set up three of the visitors’ four goals, his dangerous
deliveries from the right flank proving too hot to handle. Earlier in the group
campaign, he scored an unbelievable 30-yard effort in Valencia.
